


Window Shopping

by VelkynKarma



Series: Parallel by Proxy [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Kuron (Voltron) -centric, Kuron is Shiro (Voltron)'s Clone, Silly shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-04-25 22:22:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14388315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VelkynKarma/pseuds/VelkynKarma
Summary: Lance and Hunk decide to sneak out for a day at the mall. Ryou, against his better judgement, ends up going with them. To be the responsible one, of course.





	Window Shopping

**Author's Note:**

> One of my tumblr prompts, which requested Ryou, Hunk and Lance just hanging out. I took it and ran with it because it sounded like a lot of fun.

“Pleaaaaase?” Lance begs, looking up at Ryou hopefully.   
  
Ryou blinks down at him, and then looks over at Hunk. “Is he serious?”  
  
“Very,” Hunk says.   
  
“And you’re on board with this?”  
  
“Not really,” Hunk says, “Not the sneaking part. But I wasn’t on board with sneaking out of the Garrison after Pidge, either, and look how that ended up.”  
  
That’s a fair enough point, Ryou supposes. He only has bare memories of Shiro’s return back to Earth, but if Lance’s sneaking out _hadn’t_ happened, Shiro would probably still be stuck in quarantine and he might never have been made. Or maybe he would already have been made, but never deployed? He’s not even sure exactly how old he is.   
  
Still…”Sneaking off the Castle to visit the space mall is a far cry from sneaking out to an alien crash site,” Ryou points out.   
  
“You’re right,” Lance agrees. “It’s probably a lot safer, right? I mean, what are the odds of an alien attack in a space mall?”  
  
“Lance, the entire mall will be filled with aliens. _Any_ attack will be an alien attack.”  
  
“Who’s going to attack a mall? What kind of trouble could we possibly get into?”  
  
Ryou fixes him with a look. “Last time you went, I’m told you were chased out of the building by security, and I’m definitely sure you came back with a cow.”   
  
“Last time we went, we put on an _excellent_ stage performance and got dozens of people to join the Coalition,” Lance argues back. “C’mon, it’ll be _fun._ Shiro didn’t get to go last time. You can browse through the stores and see if anything interests you. And _I_ can check out that Earth store and see if they have the sequel to _Killbot Phantasm.”_  
  
Ryou fixes Hunk with a look. “And what’s your stake in this?”  
  
Hunk shrugs. “I’d kind of like to check in with Sal. See how he’s doing with the fundamentals of cooking, and if he’s gotten rid of that…’sustenance preparer’ bot.” He shudders. “Still can’t believe he called that _food.”_  
  
Ryou can’t help but find his interest piqued at that, just slightly. Hunk’s trained him enough in cooking that he’d be curious to see what Hunk’s efforts elsewhere had led to. But he shakes his head a moment later, coming back to his senses. “Okay,” he says, “So you both want to go out. Why not just ask Shiro if you can?”  
  
“Because he’s being a boring leader guy,” Lance complains. “No offense,” he adds, at Ryou’s raised eyebrow.   
  
“He said everyone can take a day off, but he doesn’t want us going off anywhere alone,” Hunk adds. “Not without decent backup.”  
  
“Even if it’s only half a varga away by pod,” Lance adds, “And we’re not near anything dangerous!”  
  
“So…why come to _me?”_  
  
Hunk and Lance exchange glances, before saying simultaneously, “Decent backup.”   
  
Ryou blinks at that.  
  
“Look,” Lance wheedles, “We could totally sneak out on our own, but if we get caught, Shiro will lecture our ears off. If we get caught with _you_ , we can just say that you were being all responsible and keeping an eye on us when we were being dumb teenagers doing dumb teenager things.”   
  
“I don’t think he’s going to fall for that,” Ryou says dryly.  
  
“Hey, it could work! What would you know?” Lance shoots back, clearly a little insulted.   
  
Both of Ryou’s brows rise, and he stares down at his very-much-identical-to-Shiro self, before looking back at Lance. “I think I have a pretty good idea of what he will and will not fall for,” he says mildly.   
  
Lance grins sheepishly. “Uh. Right. Yeah, sure.”  
  
“But if we _did_ get into trouble, it wouldn’t be a lie,” Hunk adds. “I mean, you would be decent backup. And you’d make sure we didn’t get into trouble.”  
  
“I’m not even approved for combat yet, Hunk,” Ryou reminds him. Next week, if he’s lucky, but Coran’s still giving it a few extra quintents to be sure all his readings come back properly. “And I really don’t think it’s a good idea for you two to be sneaking out, anyway. Not if Shiro asked you to stay put.” There’s probably a good reason for it.  
  
Probably.  
  
Lance and Hunk exchange glances. Ryou sees something pass between them, and suddenly has a bad feeling. But then Lance says, “Okay, but don’t _you_ want to get out, for a change?”  
  
Ryou raises an eyebrow. “Come again?”  
  
“I mean,” Lance says, “You’ve been grounded for weeks. We’re not blind, you know, Hunk and I can both see you getting cabin fever.”  
  
“It’s not that bad,” Ryou says. “And I can hang around on friendly planets, like Olkarion.”  
  
“Yeah,” Hunk drawls, “With Shiro and Keith watching you like hawks. Space-hawks in Keith’s case. That’s not really a day off, is it?”  
  
Well, no. Truth be told it’s sort of annoying. Actually, a _lot_ annoying. He and Shiro had discussed the whole overprotectiveness thing, and Shiro’s been _trying_ , but he still isn’t the best at dialing back the mother-hen tendencies. Keith doesn’t even know how annoying it is, and Ryou hasn’t attempted that conversation with him yet. He suspects both of them are afraid he’ll just wander off by accident, which is a symptom of his he’d been told was quite prominent when he’d been ill. But it _does_ make enjoying himself or taking a walk difficult when he’s constantly got a shadow.  
  
“It’d only be for a couple vargas,” Lance wheedles, sensing Ryou’s hesitation. “They might not even notice we’re gone. Go to the space mall, look around the shops once, grab a bite to eat from Hunk’s buddy, and come right back. No hassle.”   
  
“I taught Sal how to make a real good palmagoren fillet,” Hunk adds, persuasively.   
  
That’s quite tempting, actually, but no. It would be way too irresponsible, and Shiro wouldn’t approve.  
  
Although now that the idea is in his head, he really wishes Shiro _would._ It could be an interesting experience.  
  
Lance grins ear to ear. “Great,” he says. “C’mon, Hunk. Let’s get to a pod.”  
  
“Now? Really? Okay,” Hunk says, frowning. “But I call shotgun.”  
  
“You have to call shotgun in the pod bay—your rules, remember?” Lance reminds him, “And you’re only calling it against me anyway, because as much as it pains me to admit it, Ryou should be driving. He’s still got all of Shiro’s piloting skills.”  
  
“But I never agreed to this,” Ryou protests. Although he’d like to. But it really wouldn’t be responsible….more’s the pity.  
  
But Lance only grins wider at him over his shoulder as he heads out the door, with Hunk following. “I hope we beat the lunchtime rush at Sal’s place.”  
  
Ryou curses, and follows after them. “Wait!” he says. “Guys, I really can’t let you do this—“  
  
“What’re you gonna do? Tell on us?” Lance asks, giving his best puppy dog eyes.   
  
He _should,_ but he really doesn’t _want_ to.   
  
“You’re going to go no matter what I do, aren’t you?” Ryou asks finally.  
  
Hunk shrugs. “I’ve never known him to not, no matter how much practical advice you give him,” he says. “You can say ‘this is a bad idea,’ if you want, and then when it’s really a bad idea it’s on record.”   
  
“I fully acknowledge the record,” Lance agrees. “I am also not going to stop unless you turn me in.”  
  
Well. When he puts it _that_ way. Maybe Ryou had better just…follow, and make sure they don’t get themselves into too much trouble. Or dead. Or arrested. Or whatever else they could possibly get up to in a mall. If they come back with another cow, Allura will be furious.   
  
“I’m only coming to keep you out of trouble,” he tells them, when they get to the pod room and both paladins turn to stare at him.   
  
“Great!” Lance says, grinning in such a way that indicates he absolutely one hundred percent doesn’t believe Ryou for a second, but is also willing to play along for the sake of excuses. _“Shotgun!”_   
  
“Oh, come on, Lance, no _fair!”_  
  
Well. At least this trip promises to be…interesting.  
  
The mall isn’t actually all that bad. Ryou had been here only once, but he’d thought he was Shiro at the time, and the visit had mostly been on business. They’d been drumming up Coalition reputation with motivational events, that had resulted in those stupid shows. Ryou can’t help but shudder at the thought. Of all the memories he’d lost, those ones had stayed firmly in place, to his everlasting horror. He’s glad the motivational events he’ll be taking care of when he’s approved again will mostly consist of speeches and talks.   
  
But he’d never actually gotten a chance to see the mall, and as Shiro he would have seen it completely differently, anyway. As himself, he gets to explore the entire thing with a fresh set of eyes and brand new experiences, and the entire thing is…well, it’s _fun._   
  
They stop by the food court first, and just barely manage to get ahead of the lunch rush. Sal is a huge Galra and the owner of _Vrepit Sal’s,_ which comes as a shock to Ryou at first. But even if he’s a gruff sort, he’s an alright guy, and greets Hunk enthusiastically.   
  
“Coming back to work for me?” he asks.   
  
“Not today, Sal, but I wanted my friends to try your fillet,” Hunk says brightly.  
  
Sal’s not happy about losing Hunk as an employee, but he is grateful enough for the visit that he gives them each a meal for free. According to Hunk, this is something of a miracle and shows what good friends they are, as Sal apparently doesn’t give _anything_ away for free, even if you were to break both his arms.   
  
The fillet is pretty decent, too—a little heavy on the spices, but not so bad it’s offensive, and for food court fair it’s pretty spectacular. There’s already a line forming at Sal’s establishment by the time they’re done eating, and Sal’s hard at work behind the counter, creating food with what Ryou identifies as Hunk-standard preparation. Hunk looks incredibly proud of his pupil.   
  
Then comes the shopping. None of them can really buy anything, since none of them really have any money. Lance has a small bag of coins stuffed into his jacket pocket that he’s been saving, but he claims it’s for the game he’d originally come to buy, and refuses to spend it on anything else.   
  
But even so, window-shopping actually turns out to be strangely enjoyable. The mall has all manner of clothing, entertainment, food, technology, and household necessities stores, along with stores and stalls that sell all manner of random knick-knacks and odds and ends. There’s also all sorts of outlets specially made for different races from different planets, with items designed just for them, or showcasing tourist attractions and novelties.   
  
So Ryou gets to experience all manner of interesting things, and it feels completely new. He has memories of Shiro’s, going to malls and outlets back on Earth, but they’re mostly boring impressions of liminal spaces.   
  
These are _his_ , and Shiro’s memories never included anything so interesting as a store with coats for six arms on display, or a stall selling tiny pots of odd-looking miniature succulents that change color when you touch them. Hunk and Lance try on a few stupid hats at one smaller booth, and beg Ryou to try one too until he eventually caves. He’s pretty sure he looks like an idiot, and that’s why they’re snickering, but he can console himself with the thought that it’s actually _Shiro_ that looks like an idiot, since, well, it’s not really _his_ face. Hunk stops at a knife stall and ogles over a set of specialty cooking knives the unilu dealer tries to con him into buying, until Ryou drags him away. Lance stops at a shop selling bath items and lotions, and almost seems tempted to spend hard earned coins on some of the skin-care products there instead, but he eventually moves on.   
  
But the real victory comes when they get to the store selling Earth products. Ryou is a little surprised to find the vendor looks like he’s straight off the cover of a tabloid page, complete with an _Area 51_ cap. He’s dressed like he’s from the late 1900’s, and has a baffling number of very dated Earth goods, but Lance enters the shop enthusiastically anyway while Hunk stays outside to browse through the cooking store next door.  
  
“Here it is!” Lance says excitedly, after fishing through the bin of old retro games. “ _Killbot Phantasm II: Ascent to the Celestial Planes!_ Hah, Pidge is gonna go _bonkers_ when she sees this.”  
  
“There’s a third,” Ryou remarks idly, sorting through the stack. He only spots it because of a few of the familiar characters. This one doesn’t have the same text and lettering, mostly because it appears to be entirely in Japanese.   
  
“What?” Lance looks over at the game in Ryou’s hands, reverent. “Really? I think that one was only released in Japan. What’s it say? Can you read it? You can still read it, right?”  
  
“Uh…yes.” His illness had mostly destroyed his ability to write kanji, and Shiro had never had a chance to re-teach him, but he’s still literate. Although admittedly he hasn’t had much opportunity to practice. _“Killbot Phantasm III: Gateway to the Afterlives.”_   
  
“We have to get it!” Lance says. “Although…I don’t think I have enough for two games.”  
  
“You couldn’t even play it, probably,” Ryou points out. “If it was only released in Japan, it’s going to be in Japanese.”   
  
“You could translate for me,” Lance says. “Or Pidge could create a translator based on you and Shiro’s input, right?”  
  
“I…suppose,” Ryou says. Granted, there are probably better uses for his time, but he’s gotten used to helping Lance with _Killbot Phantasm_ anyway. It could be entertaining.   
  
“Great! Let’s try it.” Lance waves over the vendor. “How much for both of these games?”   
  
“Eight hundred GAC for both,” the vendor answers, with a voice that sounds like his nose is stuffed up.   
  
Lance’s face falls. “Oh. I’ve only got about seven hundred. I guess we’ll have to leave the other one behind. The fountain looked pretty clear today.”  
  
Ryou has no idea what that last part is about, but Lance looks so crestfallen, he’s determined to do something about it. “Wait a tick,” he says, before striding forward and looping one arm around the vendor’s shoulders, drawing him off to the side.  
  
The alien gives him a puzzled look. “Can I help you?”  
  
“I think I can actually help you,” Ryou says. “Do you recognize who I am?”  
  
“No. Should I?”  
  
“Takashi Shirogane,” Ryou introduces himself, putting on Shiro’s best smile-for-the-camera public persona. “Senior pilot for Galaxy Garrison, back on Earth. You know all about Galaxy Garrison, of course,” he adds, nodding to the alien’s cap, “seeing as you’re familiar with Area 51, and they’re in a similar line of work, so to speak.”  
  
“Oh,” the alien says, and then his bulging eyes widen. “ _Oh._ Yes, I…I think I’ve seen your picture on Earth, before, now that I think about it. During my most recent stops.”   
  
“Yeah,” Ryou says. “I figured you might. Now, I also happen to know Earth doesn’t really… _have_ a policy for shipping goods off-planet, so I figure you don’t really have a license for any of this stuff, yeah?”  
  
The vendor looks a little alarmed at that. “I don’t know what you mean,” he says after a moment, but now he’s definitely nervous.  
  
“Sure you don’t,” Ryou says agreeably. “Thing is, my friend and I are a little busy right now, and it’s going to be a while before we have a chance to return. He’s pretty interested in those games. If you can see it in your heart to lower the price for the both of them to seven hundred, I think I can put in a good word for you back home, just to make sure you don’t get in too much trouble when they find out what you’ve been doing.”   
  
The alien regards him warily. Ryou smiles—nice and friendly, completely unthreatening. There’s absolutely nothing suspicious to find, since his face is one hundred percent Shiro’s, and really would be plastered all over Earth at some point.  
  
“Would you really do that for me?” the vendor asks, after a moment.  
  
“It’s nice to see the comforts of home, when you’re out on business,” Ryou says, pouring all his persuasive diplomatic skills into his voice. “I really wouldn’t want to see you get shut down over such a silly misunderstanding.”  
  
“Oh. Well. It’s…it’s a bit of a loss, but I suppose I can do seven hundred,” the alien agrees, after a moment.   
  
“Excellent,” Ryou says. He pats the vendor reassuringly on the shoulder. “I’m glad to hear it.”  
  
Lance pays for both games at the reduced price, bewildered, but knowing better than to argue when the vendor announces he’s changed his mind. He waits until they get outside of the shop, collect Hunk, and start heading back to their pod before asking. “What did you _do?”_  
  
“I used my diplomatic powers for good,” Ryou says mildly.   
  
“Yeah, but… _how?”_ Lance repeats, wide-eyed.   
  
“He may have thought I was somebody else,” Ryou admits. “That may have helped just a little.”  
  
Hunk snorts. “Oh, man. I won’t tell Shiro if you won’t.”   
  
“Deal,” Lance agrees. He looks down at both games in his bag, grinning. “I can’t believe it. _Two_ games, and one of them limited edition! These were hard to find even on Earth. Thanks, Ryou.”   
  
“Anytime,” Ryou says, smiling a little.  
  
“So…does that mean you’re up for more excursions in the future?” Hunk asks, grinning knowingly.   
  
_“First of all,_ I’m not on this trip willingly,” Ryou reminds them. “I’m keeping you out of trouble. Second—we’ll have to see how this one turns out, first.”  
  
“You mean, are we gonna get caught,” Lance says. “Fair enough. Still worth it.”   
  
They do, in the end, get caught. Shiro’s standing in the bay when Ryou guides the pod in, arms crossed. He doesn’t even have to say anything—his stern expression is question enough.  
  
Hunk and Lance exchange guilty looks, and look ready to roll into their ‘Ryou followed us to be responsible’ spiel. Ryou cuts them off before they can. “I was getting cabin fever, and wanted to get off the ship for a bit,” he says. “Lance and Hunk decided to follow to make sure I stayed safe.”  
  
It’s a bald-faced lie, and Shiro for sure knows it, by the look he gives Ryou. But what’s he going to do, ground him? Ryou’s already stuck on the ship, and he doesn’t want Lance and Hunk getting in trouble. He _had_ promised to keep them out of it, after all. Just maybe not this way.  
  
“Uh…what he said,” Lance says, pointing at Ryou, and trying (and failing) to keep the surprise out of his voice. Hunk nods in agreement.   
  
Shiro narrows his eyes, but they don’t budge on their story, and there’s not much else he can do. “Fine,” he finally says. “But next time, you notify me.” He gives each of them a very pointed look.  
  
“Yessir!” Hunk says, with a perfect salute. Lance does the same, before both of them skitter out of the bay with their prize.   
  
Shiro gives Ryou a look. “Really?”  
  
Ryou laughs. “Don’t be too hard on them. They’re bored, and as things they could get away with go, it wasn’t that dangerous. Besides, you _have_ been kind of overprotective whenever I go out anywhere. It was nice to just have a day without being watched.”  
  
Shiro sighs. “They didn’t come back with another cow, did they?”  
  
“No cows. I was on watch the whole time.”  
  
“Fine. But seriously, next time, at least give me a head’s up? You gave me a heart attack when all three of you disappeared from the ship.”  
  
“Duly noted,” Ryou agrees. “I’m happy to hear there’s going to be a next time.”  
  
“Don’t push your luck, Ryou,” Shiro grumbles, but he’s smiling a little as he heads for the bay doors.


End file.
